How To: Change Gearbox Oil

[FoxX]

what is everyone using in the gearboxes?

i've got the motul but would be keen to know what the other guys are using.

I ended up using the same as you because they were out of TAF-X, I looked around the local stores but the brands were all pretty weak and for the same price as the Motul.

I think this stuff takes a while to bed in, it certainly seems to be more efficient when its warmed up and it seems to have reduced some decelleration noise as I expected :) but its still noticable through that aluminium gearbox Shell. Next job - new clutch.

mmm by the way,

I dont think the gearbox oil would effect mpg too much unless it had no oil in it and had seized lol, but obviously less friction is good as its easier to turn :)

[t_lew]

wheres the gearbox oil level plug?

[FoxX]

wheres the gearbox oil level plug?

Hmm oil level plug?

You just make sure your car is on level ground, and fill it up via the fill plug until it starts to come out - then you know its at its maximum level. I think some Jags have disticks for the gearbox oil, but not Corolla's.

[nrgizerbunny]

WHS!

[the punisher]

I did this at the weekend.... 84k and no evidence its ever been done... WOW what a difference :o gear change feels smooth deacceleration noise has been dramatically reduced.

i found a garden hose pipe was the ideal size for the refill, but the draw back is you can not see the oil in the pipe so i got a bit messy and i over filled it but it soon self leveled when i pulled out the pipe.

also i found the access to the plug on the front of the gear box was easier from underneth, but you do have to take off your scuttle panel but thats only four screws. Might be cos mine was preface lift but there was hardly enough room for my arm between the top of the engine and the radiator to get proper hold on doing and undoing the front plug.

Parts i ordered were spot on, and i used Castrol Transmission fulid.

I'd recomend this gearbox oil change to all corolla owners, seek professional help if your unsure about doing it yourself.

Joel

[myromeo]

I did this at the weekend.... 84k and no evidence its ever been done... WOW what a difference :o gear change feels smooth deacceleration noise has been dramatically reduced.

Joel,

how noisy was your box on decel? mine sounds terrible unless ive really thrashed it to warm the oil up!

Im off on holiday next week but when I return I plan on giving the whole car a major service, its not due but as im at 71k and only have what the service book tells me I think its not a bad idea.

Can I ask what oil people recommend for gearbox? also engine?

OP... superb writeup, many thanks! I was going to get Mr T to do this but after this writeup ill do it myself! CHEERS!

[kimi]

Will one of the mods add this to Kimi's sticky how to's at the top you think?

Its done

[dzvini]

Guys, help me please!

I've just changed my gearbox oil on '02 TS with just 2L of Mobil mobilube SHC 75w90!

Do I have to fill it more or that is enough?

[Karma Supra]

Can I just add a little tip....

ALWAYS CRACK OFF THE FILLER NUT FIRST!!!!!!

A couple of you have already said it was a little stiffer to undo. If you find you can't get it off or a tool fails or something once you have already drained your gearbox, you are stuffed!

[FoxX]

Guys, help me please!

I've just changed my gearbox oil on '02 TS with just 2L of Mobil mobilube SHC 75w90!

Do I have to fill it more or that is enough?

Your 0.3 litres short there, I dont think it will be a major issue but i'd top up to be on the safe side to ensure the health of your gearbox. You can fill it on the flat without having to jack the car up again, but I guess you didnt want to buy another 1ltr bottle.

[nrgizerbunny]

i think karma supra's tip is a good one! the other one is a good dose of Penol the night before you do it.

2litres is not enough UNLESS you managed to leave 0.3l in the casing.

[dzvini]

Ok, tnx guys, I was in a local car service and they've filled only 2 liters :(

I guess they where checking for some other smaller engines...

I will top those 0,3L asap ;)

[Karma Supra]

The idea of the top up plug is you fill untill the oil runs out... Just make sure the car is level.

[APS]

Thanks for a brilliantly clear how-to article. Good work!

When I see this a realise what difference in space there is between petrol and diesel models. On my diesel you cannot even see the filler plug from above. I think I would need to get to it from below. Anyone changed gearbox oil on a 2.0 diesel Corolla?

Mine has done 160k on the same oil. I recon it may be due for a change.

Also, shouldn't the car be level when you top up the new oil? I could see this being a problem if I cannot get to the filler plug from above.

[immy21]

Hi, I had some gearbox work done by a garage and since then 4th gear seems to be temprimentaly stiff, typically its perfectly smooth whenever i take it back to them, anyway my guess is they use cheap nasty oil so i got me some gen toyota stuff

2006 1.4d4d corolla

Also i think i found the drain and fill, problem is when i loosned the fill it started leaking oil so i got scared and tightned it back up, i wasnt expecting it to leak as it was still jacked up from Front passenger side

I was told i need 1.8 litres is this right?

Also is this the drain and fill?

Fill:

Far side oval hole for drain (not the open flap):

Drain through this hole:

Drain, you can see the shiney washer and drain:

Can someone confirm please?

[nrgizerbunny]

Fill looks okay, not sure about the drain. looks slightly different on a diesel.

[morgie]

Thanks for this guide nrgizer - used it this weekend. Before I drained I noticed that under my gearbox it looked like there was a bit of oil on it already, similar to your photo that was taken AFTER you had drained. I was concerned this meant I had some sort of leak, but certainly no evidence of that. Might be a sign that it's been changed before(?)

Anyway, at just turned 50k I thought it was worth doing. Oil that came out was pretty dirty as expected. A few people have said that 2lt seemed to fill up to overflowing point, I also found this. After draining the original oil, 0.3lt being left in the gearbox doesn't seem too unreasonable. Did anyone try topping up afterward, any success?

Just for reference I used Comma gearbox oil, SX75W-90 GL-5 and found that I could get the 1lt bottle into the engine bay without the need for tubing. Also, no warning lable on the drain plug, maybe a sign again that it's been done before or perhaps the PFL didn't have this?

Results so far seem positive, but I'll hold judgement until I've driven a little more with it. Thanks once more for the detailed guide!

[immy21]

Just a little update, genuine nissan gear oil cured the dodgy 4th gear, moral of the story, dont let a garage dump crap gearbox oil in.

[corollat3sport]

what is the best gear oil i can use for my 2003 Toyota corolla 1.4 vvt-i and how much will i need? there is only 1ltr or 5ltr i can find

thanks in advance guys and a great write up nrgizerbunny

[paigerich]

Hi.....

I'm about ready to change the gearbox oil on my 07 2.0D4D Corolla. I've seen this link before, but it's now disappeared 😧

Just wondered what tools are required and what grade oil please and thank you

Cheers

[Telis13]

I've found some topics that the pictures are not available anymore,what about someone update them?

[FiL1426]

Due to the photographs not loading properly - can't link from an external site, I've moved everything over to

www.nrgizerbunny.com

Can any one say how I can see the information from the link.

Thanks for your help.

PhiL

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[Mrpotatohead]

pitty none of the link to the how to guide work anymore.

[mickburkesnr]

I looked for the site on archive.org, and it works but none of the images load. Which is annoying as I've noticed on the Corolla E11 I bought that "slight gearbox oil leak" has been put down as an advisory. Oh well I'll have to wait for the Haynes manual to be delivered to work out how to change the oil!

[thom1983]

So how often should it be done?

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